Rayman Origins is a side-scrolling platformer, the same style as the original Rayman game. Rayman Origins is playable with up to four local players who may drop in or out at any time. Players can choose to control either Rayman, Globox or two Teensies, with additional costumes available as the game progresses.

Players travel through each level, fighting enemies and rescuing imprisoned Electoons. As the game progresses, players gain new abilities such as running up walls, gliding in midair, swimming and shrinking in size to reach new areas. Certain segments also sees players riding a mosquito, where players can shoot enemies or suck them up and fire them. If a character is hit by an enemy or obstacle, he will inflate into a ballooned state until another player can bring him back into the game by slapping him, similar to New Super Mario Bros. Wii, although players can collect hearts that will protect them from one hit. However, if all players are inflated simultaneously, or if a character is hit during single play, play returns to the last checkpoint. Throughout each level, players can collect gold-coloured Lums, and when a character collects a Lum King it temporarily doubles the smaller Lums value. There are also Skull Coins placed in hidden or dangerous areas that are worth 25 Lums each should they be successfully collected.

In order to progress through certain parts of the story, players need to free Electoons. The most common way to get Electoons is to free them from cages; there is one at the end of each level, with more to be found in hidden areas. More Electoons can be earned by collecting a certain amount of Lums within a level and clearing Time Trials that are unlocked after clearing a level once. Scoring high marks in either of these challenges can also earn medals and trophies. Players can also unlock special 'treasure chest' levels, in which they must chase a runaway treasure chest across a dangerous course in order to receive a skull tooth. Completing all of the teeth grants access to the incredibly challenging Land of the Livid Dead. less